5 to 1 *On Hiatus*

Ch 5: Hide 'N' Go Seek

When I wake up the next morning I stretch out my tired limbs happily. I have the five best house guests in the world, and also some of the most famous. They're actually really nice and respectful of Vladimir when he tells them to do something. They just arrived yesterday and I already feel like we're all just old friends.

"So how does this game work?" I ask, having never heard of hide 'n' go seek before. I really need to get out more often, wait, no I don't. My impending doom lurks in the woods just outside my castle walls.

"You've honestly never played before?" Louis says, totally astonished by the fact. I nod sheepishly and their jaws drop in a collective fall.

"Then you're in for a treat. Since we have six players and we don't know the castle that well yet we should go in pairs." Lou suggests.

"But then one of us will have an unfair advantage!" Niall whines.

"What do you mean?" I ask cluelessly.

"Whoever goes with you, who probably knows this castle inside and out, has a huge advantage over the others!" he says and I see the problem. I'm the map.

"Well, how about we play a few rounds then I give you the official grand tour. That in itself is quite fun." I suggest lightly.

"Sounds good, but then who is going with whom?" Harry asks, looking around the small circle we're huddled in.

"I'll go with you, Haz." Lou says, tossing an arm over his best friend's shoulder.

"Love you too, Boo." is all the curly haired boy responds.

"I'll go with Ni." Zayn offers with a shrug, his hands thrust deep into his pockets.

"Yay! That way nothing can hurt me. Zayn would just beat it up!" Ni says childishly and Zayn chuckles, fussing up his friend's hair playfully.

"And I guess I can count. You can go by yourself I'm sure, Liz?" Liam suggests kindly. Such a gentleman.

"Of course. And then we can be a team for the next round." I smile and we all share high-fives before Liam buries his face in his sleeve and we all scatter.

He's going to count to two hundred so we have plenty of time to hide really well. With a light kiss of my cheek, Niall follows Zayn out of the parlour and into the massive corridor. They look from one side of the hall to the other and I point them towards the back stairs that lead to the second floor. Harry and Louis run straight up the main stairs and I follow after them. "Which way to the roof?" Louis asks.

"Up those stairs, swing a left, just through the second door on the right. Go quietly, the stairs tend to squeak a bit." I tell them before they nod and run off. I think of my hiding spots I used as a child and decide to toy with my new guests a bit, always one for pranks and crazy antics. I slink to the fourth floor before ducking behind a painting in the hall. I pull it back into place behind me and drop down the hidden chute. I end up in the hidden part of the basement, the part not even on the blueprints.

I smirk and grab my black leather gloves before I continue to run to the climbing rope on the other side of the room. I drag myself up the rope bit by bit and watch from behind a painting on the main floor as Liam finds Zayn and Niall, crouched behind the drapes of the huge bay windows of my father's study. I see them tell Liam that Haz and BooBear went up the main stairs. When Liam exits the room they burst into small laughs and I pop out from the wall, shocking them both into silence. They look ready to scream but I simply place a finger over both of their mouths and say "quiet". Then I follow Liam up the stairs as quietly as possible. I stick to the shadows and the plush fabrics on the floor muffle my foot falls completely. He checks every room on the second floor, going in and trying to search every nook and cranny. Why not help the boys out a bit?